


A Theatrical Rivalry

by GayStuffe



Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: Acting, Akko is not happy, Also please don't kill me if it's not accurate, Amanda is big bad, And have a Happy New Year, Croix and her ramen, Diakko, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, High School Theatre AU, I'm basing it off of my own high school theatre, LWA Secret Santa 2019, Lock Picking, Merry Christmas, No Cursing, Rivals to Lovers, That's for you Rose, Theatre, Ursula is also not happy, stage performance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2020-03-14
Packaged: 2021-02-24 16:02:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21960637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GayStuffe/pseuds/GayStuffe
Summary: (My LWA Secret Santa gift to @RoseGoldRabbit)Akko has been in the theatre club for some time now, participating alongside her two best friends; Lotte and Sucy. That was until a pompous Diana joined, sweeping roles out from under Akko's feet. For their last and final performance as seniors, the two are competing for the main role. Who will become victorious in the strive for the main part?Or (thanks to my beta, Synd):Croix takes 'All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players' too far.
Relationships: Diana Cavendish & Atsuko "Akko" Kagari, Diana Cavendish/Atsuko "Akko" Kagari, Ursula Callistis | Chariot du Nord & Croix Meridies
Comments: 18
Kudos: 63





	1. Auditions

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RoseGoldRabbit](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseGoldRabbit/gifts).



> Hello again!  
> And, a very merry christmas to all, especially you Rose! I'm so happy I was able to write this for you. When I first read 'Croix being over theatrical', this immediately popped into my head, and I knew I had to write it.  
> And, just to tell you, there will be more :)  
> I couldn't fit this all into one, so I've split it up into around 2-4 parts, I hope that's alright with you!  
> Alrighty, I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it.  
> (P.S. it was very hard not cursing, please appreciate me Rose)

Two professors walked into a room full of shouting, divided by a row of chairs towards the middle. A single student sat in the first of the line of chairs, pouting even as the shouts and yells were thrown about over her head. 

After a moment, she spoke up. “I  _ still _ don’t see why we can’t just do Romeo & Juliet, it’s-” the entire room broke into a frenzy, each and every frantic student yelling at the same time.

“ **We’re not doing Romeo & Juliet!** ” rang throughout the room, silencing the lonely brunette in the midst of it. Continuing her pouting, she crossed her arms as the past shouts continued as they were.

Towards the back of the room, leaning against a wall, stood an unamused blonde, not bothering to engage in the passionate debate currently taking place in front of her very eyes. 

A hand went up, silencing the shouts as fast as they were started up. Each and every student guiltily looked towards the pair standing in the front of the room, each half of the pair tapping their foot impatiently. At their expressions, the students made their way to their seats, the pouting brunette slowly unfurling her crossed arms and dropping her pout. The blonde didn’t bother heading back to a seat, instead choosing to stay leaned on the wall, watching from afar. This earned a ‘tch from a certain brunette, but it was ignored in favor of the cough from the front of the room. 

“Now,” the one wearing glasses calmly started, “ _ What _ is all the fuss about?”

If it had been the other professor speaking, the class may have started spewing out answers randomly, but each and every student politely raised their hand, even the usually boisterous brunette, who was known for speaking without thinking. 

Luckily, for her and her impatience, she was a favorite of the mild mannered professor, much to the dismay of the rest of the club.

“Yes Akko?” she said, pointing at the pony-tail wearing girl, who had jumped up out of her seat as soon as the professor’s gaze had landed on her. 

“I’d like to perform Romeo & Juliet!”

Grumbles were heard throughout the room, followed by several glares directed towards the professor’s favorite. The blonde towards the back of the room eyed the scene, listening intently. 

The lilac-haired professor chuckled, taking a step forward, interrupting whatever her counterpart were to say.

“Actually, we’ve already chosen what play we’re going to perform.”

And all at once, the room erupted again, every student yelling similar words of disbelief at both each other and the adults in the room. 

The statement prompted a raised brow from the blonde in the back, but she kept silent nonetheless, gently pushing her back off the wall to stand straight. 

Back towards the front of the room, the more docile professor of the two gave a heated look to the other, “I  _ told _ you they would go crazy again.”

The other shrugged, chuckling slightly behind her hand at all the chaos ensuing, caused by her very own mouth. 

At that moment, the blonde started her trek towards said professors, passing by the yelling brunette, ignoring the pointed look thrown her way as she did so. 

“Professor Croix,” she began, yelling slightly to be heard over the chaotic room, “If I may ask, exactly  _ what _ play are we performing?”

A loud clap echoed throughout the room, causing a majority of the shouts to die down, “Well, Miss Cavendish, I’m glad you asked,” she paused, “We’re actually going to be performing an original.”

The room went silent. 

A single student raised their hand, “An original of who, Professor Croix?”

The tips of her fingers of each hand touched the other, fingers spread apart as she tucked her two touching forefingers underneath her chin, while her two connected middle fingers rested just beneath her nose, the rest splayed out next to them. It very nearly gave off a sinister vibe, the cat-like grin displayed on her face accompanying said statement. 

“Why, mine of course, who else's?”

No one bothered to speak up, that is, until Akko decided to.

“What’s it about?”

Clapping her hands again, she stepped up on a chair, ignoring the shriek of protest from her counterpart. One foot planted on the seat of the chair, while the other rested on the backrest of the chair, making it slightly lean backwards because of her weight. 

“It’s about magic!” she exclaimed, throwing her arms out wildly, “And witches! And trying your best even when you’re a little slower than the rest!” She jumped slightly, making the chair teeter as she spoke, worrying both Professor Ursula and the students further. 

Straightening her stance, she pointed at the club as a whole, “I expect you all to try your very best, as you always do, but especially now, as this play is very dear to me, and this is the very first time it is to be performed.”

It was quiet, even Akko was silent, each thinking with a somber expression as their professor continued on.

“I drew inspiration from the lot of you, you’ve all inspired me so much that I was actually able to complete an entire play. As some of you may know, I’ve had difficulties completing what I start, but this time, I’ve done it,” she paused, drawing in a breath, “And it’s all because of you guys.”

As soon as those words left her mouth, the entire room erupted in applause, students hooting and whistling as a blushing Croix smiled widely. Soon, the cheering dwindled down to a dull roar, leaving the lilac-haired professor to finish up her speech.

“To conclude, I’d like to say thank you, and I hope that this is our best performance yet. Oh, and auditions start now!” she said with a stamp of her foot on the edge of the chair’s back, finally making it topple over, taking her with it. Students shot up out of their seats, hoping to catch their beloved professor but were too late. She landed face first, chair sliding out from underneath her. 

The room went silent, only the clattering of the chair against the tile floor could be heard. Croix lay face down on the floor, unmoving. After a moment, her left hand twitched, fingers curling slightly before her arms moved, lifting herself up to a push-up position. At that, she rolled over so that she was on her back, allowing the club and her worried counterpart a glance at her face, which was crimson, whether it be from embarrassment or from the impact of the fall. Catching the red eyes of Ursula, she scowled slightly before thrusting the bottom half of her body up, jumping up to her feet in just a few seconds. Rubbing at the reddest parts of her face slightly, she turned to face the club, which was a mass of shocked faces.

It was awkward, as the class didn’t know whether to break out into laughter or to ask if she was alright. Luckily, the other adult in the room spoke up, breaking the awkward air. 

“Croix? Are you alright?” she said, stepping so that she was in front of the (somewhat) injured woman, who was still rubbing at her nose.

She pouted for a moment, rubbing stilled as she formulated a response. “Yeah, just a little red,” she said, waving the worried woman off before correcting her stance and pointing forward, “ **But!** ” she paused, “the show must go on! As I said, auditions start  _ now _ , so I’m giving you the entirety of this club meeting to choose which roles you’d like to audition for, practice, and auditions will begin immediately after the start of our next meeting.” She finished off with a wide smile, turning her back to grab a bag filled with play scripts before proceeding to toss one at each student. 

After they were all distributed to each student, she clapped her hands together once more and bowed, walking backwards out of the room with flamboyance, seemingly in an attempt to be dramatic. The blue-haired professor rolled her eyes at this and stepped forward, addressing the club as a whole. 

“Now, I know some of you may be a bit miffed at not being able to take part in the choosing of the play this year, but I’m asking that nevertheless, you try your best. I know Croix said something similar but. . .,” she trailed off for a moment, catching a pair of excited red eyes and smiling before continuing, “this means  _ a lot _ to her. And whether you’ve been here all four years or you just joined yesterday, I’m sure you want the best for her, as I do.”

Each and every student nodded solemnly along as she spoke, faces of understanding spread across the room. As soon as she finished, applause rang out for the second time that day. She thanked the club silently and made her way towards the exit, though not nearly as ostentatious as her counterpart’s exit had been. 

As soon as her figure had completely disappeared from the window of the now closed door, the club attendees began reading through the script straightaway, splitting off into groups of friends while some silently read to themselves. 

One particularly enthusiastic student could barely hold the script still, leg bouncing up and down, using the tips of her shoes to rock her chair back and forth as she read the first few pages of the script. She looked up from the small booklet, eyes wide and twinkling. 

“This part is practically  _ made _ for me!” she exclaimed, making those around her jump slightly. She opened the booklet to the third page, and pointed to a certain paragraph, “See that? She’s clumsy and messes up alot!  **I** do that!”

The two girls closest to her nodded exuberantly, one with earnest sincerity and the other dripping with sarcasm. 

“Really?” Sucy said in an unusually high-pitched voice, “I never would’ve noticed, from the  **paint** incident just last week.”

Unfortunately for Akko, she had spilled paint nearly everywhere in the backrooms, washing the usually black boarded floors a deep forest green. Slick with paint, the girl had slipped on the newly colored floors, effectively ruining both the floor and her uniform. It made for an embarrassing trip to the bathroom, tracking footprints every step of the way as students ridiculed the paint covered girl during her trek.

Luckily for the clumsy brunette, a certain sympathetic professor came to her rescue, but not without certain preventive measures taken. As of the incident, Akko was no longer allowed anywhere  _ near _ neither the painting room nor paint materials themselves. While the rest of the club was content with the punishment, the punishee herself was not, and as much was visible when not even a day later she snuck  _ back _ into the very same room. After that, the door to the room was left locked if unoccupied, courtesy of a rather forgiving blue-haired professor, who didn’t have the heart to enforce any other punishments on her favorite student. 

Akko scowled at the reminder before turning back to the script in her hands, quickly reading through the last of the pages before glancing back up at her friends who were seated around her. As they were still reading silently to themselves, she allowed her gaze to drift out towards the rest of the students in the clubroom, who were reasonably doing the same. Bored, her eyes drifted towards an isolated blonde, sitting pertly as she silently mouthed lines along as she read, hands making gestures as she went along. Everytime her brow would scrunch, her hands would make fists, indicating that she was portraying a face of anger within her lines. 

It was somewhat cute, at least to Akko it was. But, she couldn’t help her certain  _ dislike _ for said blonde. She had good reason, really, as the two had been  _ ‘feuding’ _ since the joining of the diligent blonde to their homely theatre club. Really, it had been more Akko being peeved over Diana’s acting skills while she inherently ignored the feisty brunette, mostly keeping to herself save for the nearly forced collaborative groups and of course, theatre practices with the rest of the cast and crew. 

At that moment, the blonde stopped reading, lips settling into a grim line, a pointed glare thrown in the red-eyed girl’s direction. Noticing that it was in fact  _ her _ the rigid blonde was glaring at, she meekly lowered her eyes back down to the script in hand, pretending to read as she caught the glaring girl’s gaze from the corner of her eye. Of course, it was taken as a challenge by the reckless brunette. 

The two sat rigid, backs straight, eyes unblinking. Red and blue clashed, expressions ranging from annoyed to competitive anger. There they sat, unmoving until a slap to the brunette’s arm interrupted their staring contest. Swiveling her head around, Akko glared at the mauve-haired girl whistling innocently as she thumbed through the script, making it a point not to look at her red-faced friend. 

Grumbling, she turned so that she was sitting properly in the seat, her feud with the blonde forgotten as the club began chatting about which part they would try out for. 

Lotte had decided she would try out for one of the main character’s best friends. Usually, she strayed from the main cast roles, instead trying out for more minor roles thanks to her timid nature, but based on the characters description, which ran along the lines of ‘quiet’, ‘nerdy’ and, ‘soft’, she chose Leah’s role. As for Sucy, cast usually wasn’t her thing, instead opting for crew most of the time, chose to audition for the main character’s  _ other _ best friend, who was a cynical potion-centered witch, known for her witty comebacks and sarcasm, Sierra. 

And, to no surprise to  _ anyone _ , Akko announced that she would be auditioning for the main role, Amelia, a clumsy, energetic witch that wasn’t very good at, well, being a witch. Slight jokes were passed around at how she seemed to fit the role to a tee, but soon enough the room was filled with people practicing their lines. 

Each student was different, practicing lines that ranged from pronouncing the harder worded spells, to bouncing around aimlessly in hopes of getting into character. 

As for Akko, it wasn’t hard for her to get into character honestly. Neither was it for her two friends. They practiced their lines as a trio, using group scenes from the play, which wasn’t much different from their usual group antics even when in character. 

Soon, their club meeting came to an end, and everyone trekked out of the club room, leaving behind scattered scripts in their rush out. 

Diana did the same, packing up her things quickly and swiftly exiting the classroom before Akko could even attempt to get a word in. Dejected, she turned back to her friends, who shrugged in response before heading towards the door. 

Outside the door stood Croix, who was wearing a triumphant smile, while an exasperated Ursula held her face in her hands, only bothering to look up when a hurried Diana passed by their figures. 

Croix halted her rushing, “Miss Cavendish, I saw some of what you were practicing today, and from it, I’m excited to see you on the main stage this year.”

The blonde curtly nodded, already rearing to leave. Ursula spoke up before she could make her escape, “Which part are you planning on auditioning for, if I may ask?”

Croix interjected before the blonde could answer, “For Danielle’s role I’m assuming?”

At that, Diana shook her head and smiled slightly, “Actually, I’m auditioning for the main role, Amelia.”

At that, Croix’s brow raised, surprise written on her face before masking it as quickly as it came. “I see, well, I wish you luck,” she paused, cracking a goofy smile, “also, you’re free to go,” she said, ushering her out with exaggerated hand motions. The blonde walked away with an appreciative expression painted on her face, books in hand as she exited the building in a hurried pace. 

As soon as the door letting in the cold from outside closed, Akko came trotting out of the clubroom, Lotte and Sucy following closely behind. From her fast pace, it was clear she was attempting to catch up to a certain rushing blonde, but was stopped by a coy Croix. 

“Akko! One of my favorite actresses, are you prepared for auditions?”

Seemingly giving up on her chase, she sighed and nodded, “Yeah, I’m really hoping I get the role, I relate to it a lot,” she said, not noticing the snicker coming from the lilac-haired professor. 

“I-I see, I’m glad I was able to make such a relatable character,” she was scarcely able to deliver the statement aloud without bursting into laughter, while the professor next to her deadpanned at both her student’s and colleague’s words. 

After speaking a few more words with the three students, they were sent off, presumably to go home and practice their lines for the upcoming auditions. As soon as there were no students to be found in or around the clubroom, the taller of the two professors burst into laughter, fingers wiping away imaginary tears as she doubled over, holding her stomach. After her laughing fit concluded itself, she laid a heavy palm on her colleagues shoulder, very nearly leaning on her, using her shoulder as support to keep herself from toppling over. 

The support system for the laughing professor grunted, doing her best to stand upright, back straight and hands folded over her stomach, looking unamused as she did so. 

“I just can  _ not _ believe no one has made the connection yet! To reiterate; the script practically parallels the students and is nearly an exact match to certain events they themselves have even partaken in! For instance, the paint incident just last week-,”

“Please don’t bring that back up.”

“You’re just saying that because you had to cover for your favorite mischievous student.”

Ursula sighed at the teasing, but didn’t protest nonetheless, allowing Croix to continue her raving for the time being. 

“Speaking of which, did you happen to hear of which role Miss Diana is auditioning for?” she subtly mentioned, eyeing her counterpart out of the corner of her eye. 

Her brow furrowed before a deadpan expression crossed her face, “It’s not as if I was the one who asked her which role she would be auditioning for, of course not.”

Croix rolled her eyes, “But, isn’t it intriguing? I had assumed each student would audition for the role that was based on themselves, but it seems our star student has a different idea. . .,” she trailed off for a moment before she grinned, “This is going to be an  _ interesting _ performance.”

________________

“Next!” 

Croix’s emphatic voice boomed out, ushering the nervous girl offstage as she flipped through her notes. After a moment, she opened it to a blank page before her voice rang out again, echoing throughout the auditorium. 

“Atsuko Kagari,” rang out, causing the flustered girl to trot onstage, nearly tripping over her own two feet as she made her way towards the center of the stage. The usually rambunctious girl stood quiet, waiting for the cue to start her audition. After a loud ‘ _ ahem _ ’ sounded from the professor, she drew in a deep breath and set her stance straight. 

Almost immediately, her expression changed into one full of determination as the lights focused on her form, as if a switch were flipped.

“A few scratches won't stop me! If I say I'm gonna ride a broom, then I will ride it!” she shouted, pausing for dramatic effect. Croix simply raised a brow, but no other implications that she liked it were shown on her face. If she were actually performing, she would have had a broom in hand, and act as if she was attempting to ride the legendary broom, Shooting Star, in the play but for now, she simply spoke her lines. Of course, it took a bit of the desired effect away, but she still managed to set the mood with only her fierce expressions and tone of voice. 

Akko continued, “Even if you don't like it, you're gonna help me win this race! Don’t even try to shake me off now. I'm going to hang on until the end of the world!”

Determination written on her face, she spewed off each word with great gusto, chest puffed, her persistence dripping off every syllable. 

As soon as she finished, applause sounded, but a singular deafening clap silenced said applause. Every student watching the auditions turned to look at the now clapping professor. It was quite a sight, as she had yet to clap at any auditions thus far. 

“That was spectacular Miss Kagari, I look forward to your performance onstage.”

Her face lit up at the positive feedback before rushing off the stage, sliding behind the curtain to meet with her friends to gush over her audition. She was met with proud expressions and words of congratulations, some joking that she had already nabbed the part.

Next up was Sucy, who practically flew through her audition, nailing the character’s humor and expressions with ease. She was applauded off stage, gesturing for Lotte to begin her own. Her audition was nearly identical, save for the change in humor and tone of voice, as her character was known for being timid and quiet. 

Immediately after Lotte’s audition, Diana strutted onstage, predominantly flipping her hair as she very nearly stared down the expectant professor sitting in the audience. Unbothered, said professor motioned towards the lights crew to focus the spotlight on the girl standing mid-stage before facing said girl, wearing a masked expression on her face. 

As soon as the lights were focused, the blonde took her stance and furrowed her brows. Breathing in, she closed her eyes for half a second before rapidly opening them, now full of courage as she stepped forward. 

“A few scratches won't stop me!”

Every head in the room turned.

“If I say I'm gonna ride a broom, then I will ride it!”

Croix’s masked expression finally transformed, turning into one of knowing, lips twisting upwards to form a grin.

“Even if you don't like it, you're gonna help me win this race!”

From the right side of the stage, Akko interrupted her ravings about her own auditions to stop and stare at the blonde in bewilderment. 

“Don’t even try to shake me off now.”

As soon as she could process what was said, she breathed out a near-silent, “ _ what _ ?”

Diana glanced towards the right stage, catching disoriented red eyes before continuing to her next line.

“I'm going to hang on until the end of the world!”

The auditorium was silent, save for the heavy breathing of the blonde onstage.

Finally, Croix stood up and began to clap, smirk never leaving her face, “What an absolutely  _ astounding _ performance Miss Cavendish! Bravo I must say, bravo!”

No one else in the room moved to clap,  _ especially  _ not the shocked brunette, who was frozen, jaw dropped, mouth open, and eyes wide. After a nudge from Lotte, she shook her head rapidly and set her sights on Diana, who was waiting for her cue to exit the stage. 

It seemed as if Croix was waiting for something, or rather someone, grin growing wider by the second. Not a moment later, she got was she was expecting.

Before any of her friends could stop her, Akko barrelled on stage, nearly colliding with the blue-eyed actress before she was able to stop herself, making them only a few centimeters apart. Locking eyes with the blonde, she inhaled a deep breath before allowing her shoulders to deflate slightly, but the fierce look in her eye was still present. 

Croix looked positively delighted with the events that were currently unfolding, face gleaming and hands clasped together as the air in the room grew heavy with tension. 

Narrowing her eyes, she blew her bangs out of her face before leaning into Diana, lips next to her ear, breath slightly tickling the blonde’s cheek.

“It’s  _ on _ .”

At that, the heated brunette swiftly turned, making sure their shoulders violently brushed as she walked offstage, slinking back to where her anxious friends were waiting. 

Diana said nothing in response, stare only hardening as her body jerked back from the shoulder check. 

Croix looked practically crestfallen, a pout forming on her face as Diana nodded and sauntered off the stage, leaving the pouting professor to clear the tense air of the auditorium. 

Clearing her throat, she motioned for the light’s booth to power down, leaving the stage dark as she turned around to address the club members sitting in the audience. 

She cleared her throat again, “Alright! With that, auditions are a wrap, and I should have the roles list posted next week. Everyone got that?” As soon as she was responded with a resounding ‘Yes,’ she dismissed the club with a flick of her wrist, watching as the students filed out of the auditorium doors. 

Akko reluctantly made her way off the stage, being dragged unwillingly towards Croix by a snickering Sucy and an apologetic looking Lotte. 

When they arrived to the still-smirking professor, Lotte opened her mouth in an attempt to apologize, but Akko beat her to it.

“I’m sorry for rushing on stage Professor Croix.”

Her two friends looked slightly stunned at the apology, the professor soon joining them with the raise her brow. 

“It’s not me you should be apologizing to,” she said, gesturing towards the blonde making her way off the stage and towards where Akko and her friends were talking to the lilac-haired professor. 

The brunette scoffed, waiting ‘til Diana was close enough to hear their conversation, “I  _ refuse _ to apologize to her, not until she deserves it.”

Not bothering to stop to talk to Croix, the blonde strode past, a hurt expression covering her face as she kept her head level, not looking up even as her name was called. 

As soon as she was out of earshot, a look of regret passed over the brunette’s face before she shook her head and hardened her expression.

No one knew what to say, even the usually exuberant professor was struggling for words, contemplating what she could do or say to disperse the awkward air. 

“Well then. . .,” she started off awkwardly, “I’ll see you next week, I wish you luck.”

And with that, she was off, speed-walking to where an aggravated Ursula stood, tapping her foot impatiently as she crossed her arms. As Croix neared the impatient women waiting for her, her steps grew apprehensive, pace slowing down to a sluggish stroll. Eventually, the impatient professor stepped forward herself and grabbed the other by the arm, dragging her behind stage. 

They stopped abruptly, causing Croix to collide into the blue-haired professor’s back. 

She promptly turned her body around to face the mischievous professor, pointing an accusing finger in her face, “You  _ wanted _ this to happen, didn’t you?”

Laughing awkwardly, she scratched the back of her neck, backing away from said accusatory finger until her back was up against the wall. 

“Wanted  _ what _ to happen?” she said, eyes rapidly moving left and right to avoid her counterpart’s glare.

She stepped closer, so close that their noses were nearly touching, “You  **know** what I’m talking about.”

Croix blew a stray hair out of her face and began to cheekily slide against the wall, making way for her escape from the intimidating professor. As soon as said professor realized what she was attempting to do, she slammed her palm on the right side of the attempted escapee’s head, effectively trapping her and halting her escape. 

“You’re not getting out of this that easily.”

And with that, the impish professor and her heated counterpart left the room. 


	2. A Bad Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a really long note typed out but then my page refreshed I am so smad.   
> To make a long note short: Sorry I was gone, sorry this took so long, and there was some family stuff(e) which caused me to go on a bit of a internet silence.   
> Anyways, I hope you like it, enjoy!

The music and theatre hallway was an absolute mess, filled to the brim with eager, impatient students milling about while they waited. Out of all of them stood an equally impatient student, if not more so, as she hadn’t had the best of days, at least to her own standards.

“Ugh!” she cried out, kicking the wall in the midst of her frustration. A hand was laid on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down, but only succeeded in irritating her further. Pushing the hand off, she leaned her back against the wall, feet kicked forward in an  _ attempt  _ to seem calmer than she really was. 

There was no simple explanation as to  _ why _ she was feeling this way, as it consisted of multiple different reasons and/or events that unfolded through-out her seemingly long day. 

First, she was running late to class, which happened more often than most of her professors would’ve liked. Upon arriving to class, after the usual ‘don’t let it happen again’ from her professor, the girl went to take her seat, only to pause in the middle of the classroom aisle. 

Someone had taken her seat. 

Obviously, nothing could be done about it, at least not at the moment. Class  _ was _ still going on, and, it wasn’t as if they had an assigned seating chart this period, so the chair thief wasn’t  _ technically _ breaking any rules.

Still, she made sure the nameless girl seated in her spot saw the glare etched on her face before doing a quick sweep of the room with her eyes to see if there were any empty seats. Unfortunately, there was. 

The brunette begrudgingly made her way back towards the front of the classroom, feet dragging as she did so. The professor paused her lecture to raise an eyebrow at the seemingly now depressed student as she slid the chair out from under the desk, the sound of the legs of the chair scratching against the tile floor making everyone in the small classroom cringe. Akko, finally pulling herself into the seat of the chair, gave a tight-lipped smile to the professor, who was holding a rather annoyed expression now. Nevertheless, she continued her lecture, not paying the brunette anymore attention.

She did her best not to turn her head to the left, but it was rather hard, as she knew  _ exactly _ who was seated there. Turning her head slightly, she caught blue eyes in her own red ones before whipping her head back around, paying deathly attention to the professor’s lecture. From her left, near-silent chuckles could be heard, forcing the brunette to face the owner of said chuckles. 

“Did you need something Miss Kagari?”

Not bothering to reply to the snappy remark, she blew a raspberry and turned to face the front, hoping that by doing so, they wouldn’t have to speak to each other for the duration of the period. 

Unfortunately for her, she was wrong. “How mature,” rang out after the fact, agitating her further. 

“Did  _ you _ need something?” she questioned with a bite, turning her entire body to face the blonde, who smugly crossed her legs as the brunette faced her. She shook her head no before looking away, seemingly ignoring Akko once again in favor of fiddling with her pen as the lecture bore on.

Miffed at being ignored, the brunette swiftly kicked the back leg of the blondes chair before swiveling back to face the front, snickering as the blonde huffed and set her chair back in the position it was in. 

Afterwards, the rest of the class went by smoothly, save for the constant tapping noise of Diana’s pen against the desk, which drove the red-eyed girl mad, but she somehow managed to restrain an outburst. The same couldn’t be said for the constant glares sent towards the blonde’s way as she haughtily raised her hand to answer every question, but the feelings were obviously mutual as the glares were returned wholly after the questions were answered and her seat was retaken. 

And  _ that _ wasn’t even half of it. 

Luckily, the second period wasn’t  _ nearly _ as inciting, but she did accidently snap at Sucy, who usually would’ve retalited in tenfold, but everyone around the irritable brunette could tell something was amiss. 

After walking into class and taking her usual seat next to her two best friends, she stayed quiet for the first half of the period, resting her chin on the desk as the professor droned on. No one paid her behavior any attention, as her sleeping and dozing off during class was the norm, so she went unbothered until the class was given work time. 

A sharp poke at her side forced her to lift her chin to face the two girls to her left, who were giving expectant stares. Sucy spoke up first. 

“We can’t have you dozing off the  **entire** time, this  _ is _ a group project after all.”

Akko humphed, and propped up her hand so that she could rest her chin on her open palm, ignoring the previous statement as the two girls next to her shared a confused look. 

A soft, gentle poke at her side caused her to side glance at the pair, already knowing it was the redhead who had poked her this time. Nevertheless, she made no sound and continued to ignore the two in favor of staring into nothing. 

Sucy grunted and poked the quiet girl harder, pointer finger digging into her ribs. 

Akko shot up from her seat, “ **What** do you  **want** ?” she seethed, brow furrowed as she faced the taken-aback pair. She was now in Sucy’s face, breathing heavily on the pale girl as she panted in anger, one hand clasped on the back of her chair and the other splayed on the desk, palms turning white as she leaned her weight forward. 

Her outburst had quieted the entire class, only the soft pants of the heated girl could be heard. An awkward atmosphere had settled in, forcing even the professor to feel uncomfortable in the classroom. After realizing exactly where she was and who she was talking to, the brunette gulped, ceasing her pants of frustration and slowing taking her seat. 

Nothing was said until a concerned Lotte spoke up. 

“Akko? Is everything alright. . .?” she asked, trailing off as if not knowing how to continue her question. Sucy nodded her head towards the worried redhead before giving Akko a pointed look.

Forcing the pained expression off of her face, she nodded, “Uh, yeah, I’m fine, I’m just. . . anxious about finding out if I got the role or not.”

The two best friends nodded sympathetically. After all, it  _ was _ all the only thing Akko had been talking about for the entire week. When they met up with the girl in the mornings, it was the first thing to come out of her mouth, and, when they were saying their goodbyes at the end of the day, it was the last thing to leave her lips. Honestly, it had gotten to the point where hearing about it was quite annoying, but neither girl was about to tell the excitable brunette that as she raved on about the play and ‘ _ her _ ’ part. 

After a quick embrace from her best friends, and a few pats on the back from her peers, Akko seemed to have calmed down just in time for the bell to ring, signaling that both the period was up and that lunch was about to begin. 

Unfortunately for her, the rest of her day hadn’t gone any better. 

During lunch, she had nearly tripped and ended up dropping her tray of food on the floor, which made for a growling stomach for the remainder of the day. Of course, her two friends offered what they could of theirs, which she was thankful for, but it surely didn’t help her mood any.

She didn’t even want to  _ think _ about third period, what with the embarrassing stunt she had pulled by going up and tripping in front of the entire class. Normally, it wouldn’t have been so bad, she’d tripped dozens of times before, but  _ Diana _ was in that class, and of course had a grand time laughing behind a badly disguised cough at the floored brunette, along with the rest of the class. Luckily, she had a lonesome seat towards the back of the classroom during that class, so she could brood in silence for the remainder of the short period. 

As luck would have it, in Akko’s fourth period, she learned that she had failed a test, and would have to sit in a ‘ _ study-detention _ ’ after school for doing so. Also learning that professor Ursula would be supervising said detention certainly helped, not to mention the fact that Akko could converse with the professor about the play during it instead of actually having to do any school-work during the so-called detention. 

If the detention was being supervised by any other professor, Akko may not have been able to sneak a look at the cast list along with the other girls, but, what with Professor Ursula being one of the theatre heads, she was allowed to ‘tag along’ while the professor set up for the club meeting. With a promise to be back soon, the blue-haired professor left the brunette among the group of girls waiting in front of the club-room door. Which led to where the brunette was currently impatiently waiting, surrounded by a group of girls who were waiting for the same thing. 

For professor Croix to unlock the door.

It  _ should’ve _ been unlocked the moment the last bell rang, even if most of the clubs didn’t start for another twenty minutes, as per the school rules. What didn’t help was the fact that everyone in the club  _ knew _ that the professor in question was free the entire last period of the day, as it was common knowledge that the last period was her prep period, so she had no excuse to be late. 

This only made the students more irked, as it was obvious that the professor in question was purposely making the anxious students wait. It wasn’t unlike her, and it was usually all in good fun, but there were certain times when such behavior was plain  _ annoying _ . Usually, her counterpart, professor Ursula, was there to keep her in check, which most students were thankful for, but unfortunately, there was only one key to the theatre club room, and professor Croix had it, which meant, for the moment, nothing could be done for the impatient students. 

At this point, the students, including Akko herself, were getting antsy, and mumbles of picking the lock sprang about. Though, each girl knew that they either didn’t know how to pick a lock, or didn’t have the guts to do so. That is, until a certain fiery red-head trotted into the hallway, trailed by a girl nearly half her size, and one simultaneously eating and walking as they made their way towards the crowd of girls surrounding the locked door in question. 

As the trio walked closer, a path was made for them to walk through the crowd without hindrance, allowing them through to the center, where Akko and a few other girls stood. 

“I hear there’s a locked door that needs pickin’,” she breathed out in an accent, pretending to tip her hat as she winked at the girls standing by the door, sly smile growing wider as the girls in question began to blush. Akko was having none of it at that moment.

She slapped the door with her right palm, “Croix hasn’t unlocked the club-room doors yet, and it was supposed to start like,” she paused, thinking as she pulled up her sleeve to reveal an empty wrist, “ten minutes ago.” After a few more moments of her staring at her watch-less wrist, she looked up to catch Amanda’s cool expression turn into one of bewilderment. 

“What? Akko- there’s nothing on your-,” she stopped abruptly. 

Each girl in the crowded hallway, even Amanda, who was known for her cool demeanor was unsure of how to react to such a display of. . . Akko. Luckily, they didn’t have to. 

Professor Ursula came bounding down the corridor, arms full of what seemed like a mess of different fabrics, all tangled about and dragging on the floor as she made her way down towards the students. Unable to see in front of herself, she nearly bulldozed over a student, who was sitting calmly against the wall. Fortunately for both the student and professor Ursula, Akko helped right the clumsy professor, preventing both the professor's would-be fall and the spilling of cloth from her arms onto the floor. 

“Akko! What are you doing out here? Shouldn’t you be inside the club room? Not to mention the rest of you-,” she stopped mid-sentence, eyes widening before she sighed, “The club room isn’t unlocked, is it.”

The students nodded, stepping away from the door as the professor strided closer towards it. After asking a nearby student to hold the load of fabrics she’d been holding, she tried the handle and shouted for her counterpart, but it was no use. 

“Alright, O’Neill, come pick the lock.”

Each and every student standing near gasped, along with a few brow raises and disbelieving expressions. Even Amanda herself was taken by surprise, fumbling with the objects in her hands before responding. 

“Uh. . . are you sure professor Ursula?”

The blue-haired adult nodded, “I know you can, get to it,” she said, ushering the impish student to do what she probably shouldn’t be doing in front of any authority whatsoever. 

Beside her, Akko stood both confused and apprehensive while she watched the redhead work, her two friends handing her tools, snacks, and drinks. Constanze always seemed to have a small kit of tools, fit for her own size, while Jasminka always seemed to have food and drink, which no one was quite sure where they came from, but she always seemed to have some nonetheless. 

Soon, the corridor was filled with the sounds of mental tinkerings, combined with curses strewn about from the student working on the lock, but everyone, including professor Ursula, pretended not to hear said curses. 

Not long after, a loud clicking noise was heard, followed by a triumphant “ _ Aha! _ ” from Amanda and a thumbs up from Constanze. 

“Did you get it open?” the professor asked tentatively, glancing around as she did so. 

The redhead nodded in affirmation, wiping imaginary sweat from her forehead as she gestured to the door for the professor to open it. After a nod, she stepped up towards the door, laying her hand on the handle. Students were already crowding around the door, eager to get in and catch a glimpse of the cast list before anyone else. Slowly, Ursula opened the door, and peered around the corner. 

“Oh! How’d you guys get in here?”

There Croix sat, slumped down in her chair, left hand holding an instant noodles cup and, in her right, a pair of chopsticks. Unbothered by the intrusion, she lifted the chopsticks in her right hand and fiddled with them until she had a good mess of noodles tangled on them before noisily slurping said noodles, not aware of the rising emotions coming from the group that had just entered the room. Among them, it could be said that her counterpart, specifically, was the most bothered by the situation, who had just taken back the mess of fabrics from the student who had been asked to carry them from before. 

The bundle of fabrics and cloth was then thrown at a slurping professor’s head. 

Luckily, for both the hungry professor and the fabrics that were probably going to be used for their future performance, the hot cup or ramen was safely out of the way before the cloth bomb hit, but the same could not be said for Croix’s face. 

“Hey!” she exclaimed, “What was that for?”

The pitcher of the ball of fabrics’ face grew red, “Do you have  _ any _ idea what time it is? Do you know how much I have to do today? Not to mention, you’re taking time away from Akko’s study-detention, and the students that have  _ other _ clubs-,”

Croix interjected, “Wait when did Akko get a detention-,”

Only to be then interrupted by an enraged Ursula, “ _ That is not important right now, what  _ **_is_ ** _ important is that you- _ ,” the professor’s seething was halted by the comment of a nearby snickering student. 

Said comment caused  _ both _ of the professors’ faces to grow red, both embarrassed and just now realizing exactly where they were. Croix gathered up the fallen clump of cloth from her lap into her arms as she stood up, ramen quickly forgotten on a nearby desk. 

No one said anything for a while until professor Croix received a jab on her side, pushing her to speak up to the club members. 

“Oh- oh yeah! I almost forgot, you all must be dying to know who got which part!”

If the expressions of each club member standing there wasn’t enough to tell her as much, Akko’s outburst sure did. 

“Really?” she said in a deadpan voice, face emotionless as she did so. 

With that, Croix smiled cheekily, “I apologize for the wait I got . . .,” she paused, blushing as she looked towards her previous position, “caught up in something. Nevertheless, I’ve already gone and printed the cast list, it’s on the bulletin board in the common room. If you don’t see your name on the cast list you’re welcome to become a crew member.”

The moment she finished speaking, a majority of the students raced off to the said common room, each student crowding around the hastily pinned list to the board. Of course, Akko pushed her way towards the front, eager to see her name at the top of the list in bold letters. 

Except, she didn’t. 

Instead of seeing ‘ **_Atsuko Kagari_ ** ’ printed at the very top, next to the main character’s name, Amelia, she found what seemed to be a different name. Rather, a familiar name to the brunette, a little  _ too _ familiar if you asked her opinion. 

“ **Are you kidding me?!** ” an outraged Akko screeched, nearly tearing the cast list off of the bulletin board. Lotte, who had walked into the room with Sucy as Croix was ending her explanation, hurriedly pulled her away from said list in hopes of preserving it’s life so that the other students may see it before its doom. Sucy of course did nothing, snickering from afar as she flipped through the script.

Diana stood indifferently behind them, waiting for her turn to see the list. In truth, she was excited, and said excitement was barely hidden behind the calm expression she wore. As soon as the rowdy brunette was dragged away from the bulletin board, the blonde stepped up and read the first name boldy scribbled on the list in Croix’s signature nearly-illegible handwriting. 

She had gotten the main part, Amelia. Smiling widely, she turned around only for said smile to wilter as her gaze caught her so-called ‘rival’s’, who was practically foaming at the mouth as a worried Lotte held her by the arm. 

Lifting a shaky arm, she pointed at the triumphant blonde, clear animosity written on her face as she stepped forward, shaking Lotte off of her. 

“How could you! You-,” her angry accusation was cut off by a set of almost-teasing eyes, accompanied with a haughty smirk.

“How could I  _ what _ , Miss Kagari? Obtain the main role fairly?” the smirk grew boastful as she spoke those words, egging the enraged brunette on further as Lotte struggled to hold her back. It was quite a surprise to their audience, as everyone knew that Diana was in fact talented, not to mention a plethora of other things, but she was never the type to boast. 

The angry girl sneered, showing off her teeth, “Fairly?” she barked out a forced, fake laugh, “I wouldn’t be surprised if you paid off professor Croix, Miss  _ Cavendish _ .”

Diana’s face dropped, brow scrunching in hurt as her words set in. Not a moment later, two girls were at her side, each laying a hand on either of her shoulders. One stepped forward, very nearly nose to nose with the seething girl. 

“That’s quite enough,  _ Kagari _ ,” was all that she said before promptly swiveling around on her heel, nearly whipping the heated girl in the face with her hair. At this point, Lotte was able to get a good grip on Akko and could attempt to drag her away from the situation to prevent her from saying anything else she might regret in the very near future. 

At that point, Diana and her two friends were already on their (not-so) merry way, the two girls on either side of Diana making a point to slam the club door on their way out. 

From a ways away, Croix commented under her breath, “They  _ do _ know they’ve just relocked themselves back out, right?” 

To which Ursula replied, “I don’t think they want back in anytime soon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Unfortunately, I can't promise regular updates but I can promise me accidentally writing too much and having to split it to make another chapter. Yep, thats right, instead of my usual three, there will now (hopefully) be 4 maybe 5 chapters to this fic!  
> See you next update!

**Author's Note:**

> To clear up any confusion:  
> Akko: Amelia  
> Diana: Danielle  
> Lotte: Leah  
> Sucy: Sierra  
> Also, the original idea was to use an actual play, but then I thought of using the anime's plotline instead, which I'm glad I thought of because I know nothing about plays and/or musicals.  
> I'm not sure when chapter two will be realeased, I've starting working on it, so maybe sometime mid-January.  
> Once again, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Hanukkah, and any other I may be missing.


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